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To bug or not to bug the immune system: benefits and consequences of altering the microbiome.

The Human Microbiome Project, a NIH initiative to understand the complexity, constitution, and diversity of microbes living on and in the human body, was recently completed in 2012. The term "Super-Organism" was coined to describe humans as a result of characterization of the breadth and diversity of microbes that live on the external surface as well as in the blood, tissues, and cells of the human body. What role do commensal organisms play in health and disease? What role do pathogenic microbes play in health and disease? For decades, a major emphasis in the field of immunotoxicology has been to understand the impact of environmental/ occupational/therapeutic exposures on host defense against invading and opportunistic pathogens. Mounting evidence suggests that equal effort should be provided to understanding the relationship between the human microbiome and how alterations thereof can have profound implications for the development of complex immune and inflammatory diseases. Individuality of the microbiome contributes to immune-diversity, "metagenetic" diversity, and interindividual differences in susceptibility to many complex diseases, including allergic disease, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and others. Evidence suggests that development of an individual's microbiome begins before birth, and the nature of this colonization can influence susceptibility to disease later in life. In addition, homeostasis of the microbiome is under continual attack due to exposures encountered in daily life. Recent research shows that exposure to toxic chemicals can shift the dominant characteristics of the microbiome, thereby providing a strong contribution to disease susceptibility. Therefore, it is important to consider this research in the context of human health risk assessment. The purpose of this symposium is to provide evidence of beneficial and detrimental contributions of the microbiome to the development of immune and inflammatory diseases and provide insight into how microbiome research integrates into human health risk assessment.